Barge hits Miss. River bridge; oil cleanup ongoing

CORRECTS DATE TO JAN. 28, NOT JAN. 18 - The towboat Natures Way Endeavor banks a barge against the western bank of the Mississippi River, Monday, Jan. 28, 2013 as an 18-wheeler crosses the Interstate 20 bridge. Cleanup crews with booms skimmed oily water from the Mississippi River Monday, a day after a barge with more than 80,000 gallons of oil struck a railroad bridge near Vicksburg, spreading a sheen of light crude that kept part of the waterway shut to ship traffic Monday, authorities said. (AP Photo/Eli Baylis)
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CORRECTS DATE TO JAN. 28, NOT JAN. 18 - The towboat Natures Way Endeavor banks a barge against the western bank of the Mississippi River, Monday, Jan. 28, 2013 as an 18-wheeler crosses the Interstate 20 bridge. Cleanup crews with booms skimmed oily water from the Mississippi River Monday, a day after a barge with more than 80,000 gallons of oil struck a railroad bridge near Vicksburg, spreading a sheen of light crude that kept part of the waterway shut to ship traffic Monday, authorities said. (AP Photo/Eli Baylis)
/ AP

On Monday, 31 tugboats, barges and other vessels were parked waiting for the river to reopen, said Army Corps spokesman Kavanaugh Breazeale. The river was closed to traffic for 16 miles - eight miles north and eight miles south of Vicksburg.

Ann McCullough, spokeswoman for the American Waterways Operators, a trade association for the U.S. tugboat, towboat and barge industry, said the shutdown is concerning. But she couldn't estimate the daily economic impact.

"It's a significant matter when the nation's waterborne superhighway is disrupted for any reason," she said.

During the 2011 flood, officials said delays in loading a ship - because barges can't move on the river - can cost shipping companies from $20,000 to $40,000 a day. But the river is busier at some times than others, so it's difficult to gauge the current impact.

The barges are owned by Corpus Christi, Texas-based Third Coast Towing LLC, Lt. Gomez said. A woman who answered the phone at the company Monday declined to comment.

Both vessels were being pushed by the tug Nature's Way Endeavor. The website for Nature's Way Marine LLC of Theodore, Ala., identifies the vessel as a 3,000-horsepower, 90-foot-long boat. It was built in 1974 and underwent a rebuild in 2011, according to the company.

A company manager referred calls to the Coast Guard in Vicksburg.

The last time an oil spill closed a portion of the lower Mississippi was in February 2012, when two barges collided, spilling less than 10,000 gallons. The river was closed for about a day. In 2008, a fuel barge collided with a tanker and broke in half, dumping 283,000 gallons of heavy crude and closing the river for six days.

On March 23, 2011, several barges broke loose, and some hit the U.S. 80 bridge and Interstate 20 bridge. One was hung up on the I-20 bridge for about three weeks before it was removed.

Sunday's spill was not expected to create environmental problems for the Gulf of Mexico, 340 miles to the south. The cargo of 80,000 gallons in the ruptured barge compartment doesn't compare with the more than 200 million gallons of oil that spewed from BP PLC's Macondo well after a blowout in 2010.

The BP well blew wild for months, while the Vicksburg spill has been contained and oil is being moved to safety.

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Associated Press writer Janet McConnaughey in New Orleans contributed to this report.